The ability of a craftsperson to form fine joinery such as cabinetry is often the true measure of the person's woodworking skill. Poorly fitting joints may detract from the overall projects aesthetics and functionality, especially for fine cabinetry. Proper fit and assembly often require a high level of skill or a large time commitment on behalf of a novice woodworker. To aid in the process, a woodworker will often employ a jig or form to assist in proper joint formation. Too often these jigs tend to be complex to set-up for use, difficult to understand how adjustments impact the finished workpiece, and lack efficient methods for reestablishing commonly made joinery, such as dovetails, box joints, and mortise and tenon joints. Novice woodworkers may even tend to avoid forming fine joinery, instead selecting a simpler joint such as a butt-joint rather than attempt to implement a complex or non-intuitive jig. Expert woodworkers, in contrast, may become frustrated with the set-up time required for the jig device. The effectiveness of a jig may be judged on the ability of a user to rapidly set the jig for the desired joint in an intuitive manner.
Typical jig devices may lack the ability to form a wide variety of joints. As a result, a woodworker may have to obtain a different device in order to make a desired joint. For example, a user may own a jig for making drawers and an entirely separate jig for aiding in formation of a mortise and tenon joint to assemble a table leg and rail. In addition to the expense, these devices may consume valuable workshop space.
While some devices permit the formation of various types of joinery such as through dovetails, half-blind dovetails of various fixed spacings, and box joints, a user may tend to accept a lesser quality joint due to set-up errors, or be required to conduct test cuts to ensure the desired fit is obtained. For example, if a router bit does not extend sufficiently, below the template, into a workpiece the resultant assembled workpiece, such as two sides of a drawer joined by a half-blind dovetail, may have a loose joint. Correspondingly, if the cutting bit extends too far into the workpiece the joint may be too tight. In either case, remedial action may be required for the pieces forming the assembled workpiece to meet user demands or another set of individual workpieces must be shaped. Other jig alignment issues may also affect the overall fit and finish of the resultant workpiece. Examples include the relative position of a template with respect to the workpiece. For instance, improper alignment of an end of a workpiece with respect to a template may result in a joint which is either loose or too tight.
In additional instances, some existing jigs fail to offer convenient workpiece positioning and securing. For example, when forming half-blind dovetails in a single pass (when both the pins and tails are formed in a single operation) the workpieces are off-set from each other, along the length of the joint, to account for the spacing between pins/tails so that the workpieces align in the desired fashion. To accomplish the foregoing in a ½″ (one-half inch) half-blind dovetail, the workpieces are off-set along their width or a secondary axis of the board by a ½″ (one-half inch) to ensure at least a partial pin is formed on either end of the workpiece or board. Once properly positioned, a workpiece is required to be firmly secured to prevent inadvertent movement during a shaping or cutting operation. Difficulties with some securing devices include the inability of the securing device to effectuate both coarse and fine adjustment in a convenient manner. For example, some securing devices may be difficult for the user to secure while properly positioning the workpiece.
Commonly, joined workpieces are typically secured at right angles to each other. If a non-perpendicular joint is desired, a woodworker may be forced to hand form the joint or purchase/construct a jig for accommodating the desired angle. Typically, such non-standard joints are only attempted by experienced woodworkers who demand devices having full features. For example, a triangular table having three legs connected via a rail adjacent the support surface requires that a mortise and tenon joint be formed with an acute angle. As a result, in order for a jig to be considered for purchase by a skilled woodworker, the jig should offer the capability to form non-standard angular joints.
In addition to the difficulties experienced in setting-up the jig, dust and debris generated by operation of a hand-held router removing material, from the workpiece during shaping operations, may be problematic to remove or tend to get caught between the router sub-base plate and the fingers/template. This may require a user to halt operations to remove the dust and debris away from the working area before recommencing operations. This may slow overall progress and become an annoyance to the woodworker.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus configured for aiding efficient, intuitive joint formation without the drawbacks experienced in the prior art.